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By Marni Rose McFall
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Target's recent posts on Facebook have been flooded with negative comments after the company ended its diversity, equity and inclusion program.
Newsweek has contacted Target for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Upon returning to office on January 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle federal DEI programs.
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Target is the latest U.S. company to step back from its DEI goals, which are designed to enhance representation in the workplace. In recent months, companies have rolled back such policies, and Trump's move may intensify the trend.
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What To Know
On January 24, Target announced that it was discontinuing its DEI program and other equity initiatives.
Following the announcement, the company's recent Facebook posts have received angry reactions and negative comments. On Thursday, a post received more than 100 angry reactions, while one made last week received 1,500 angry reactions.
There are more than 5,500 comments across the two posts, and while not all of them are negative, many are—with some commenters pledging to abandon the chain and shop locally.
Some users have accused Target of "selling out," and others have simply commented "no," "nope" and "traitor."
DEI policies have been the subject of national debate in recent years. In 2020, in response to the Black Lives Matter protests that followed the murder of George Floyd, corporate America began adopting a number of equity goals.
However, in 2023, a U.S. Supreme Court decision banned affirmative action in college admissions, which emboldened conservative groups to challenge corporate DEI initiatives.
High-profile companies such as McDonald's, Walmart, Ford, Harley-Davidson and John Deere have recently reduced or phased out their DEI commitments.
What People Are Saying
Kiera Fernandez, Target's chief community impact and equity officer, said on January 24: "Many years of data, insights, listening and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy. And as a retailer that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape, now and in the future."
President Donald Trump said at a news conference on January 23: "My administration has taken action to abolish all discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion nonsense—and these are policies that were absolute nonsense—throughout the government and the private sector. With the recent, yet somewhat unexpected, great Supreme Court decision just made, America will once again become a merit-based country."
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen how companies will manage their DEI goals in the wake of Trump's executive order and amid pressure from conservative consumers.
Some prominent companies, including Costco, have resisted public pressure to retreat from their diversity goals. On January 22, Costco shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to evaluate the risks posed by its DEI practices.
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